


Chasing Otters

by TeriTheTacticalUnicorn



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Cute Cole (Dragon Age), F/M, Fluff and Angst, Helpful Cole, Human Cole (Dragon Age), Mild Smut, Not Canon Compliant, Slow Burn, Solas is Fen'Harel (Dragon Age)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:27:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27792247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeriTheTacticalUnicorn/pseuds/TeriTheTacticalUnicorn
Summary: Hana Aleksander was born broken, she had long come to terms with being permanently disabled, to always needing help. Well, one day help didn't come.
Relationships: Blackwall/Josephine Montilyet, Cassandra Pentaghast/Varric Tethras, Cole (Dragon Age)/Original Female Character(s), Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus, Solas/Trevelyan (Dragon Age)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	1. Chasing Voices

  
  


Hana wheeled home after closing her bookstore for the night. She didn't hear the footfalls of the man in the black hoodie behind her, she was listening to music like she always did on her way home. 

The voice, the voice of what she assumed was her conscience for years, a meek male voice that spoke in cute riddles, told her to turn around. _"He's following, watching, 'why is she in a wheelchair? Will she fight back? How much money does she make from that little bookshop?' Faster, get away from him."_ And when she turned back, she saw a man duck into an alleyway. The wheels of her wheelchair wet from the torrential downpour of the chilled fall day in Seattle. 

The wind whipped her auburn hair into her face as she hurried herself faster down the empty sidewalk towards her apartment. Thankfully, her phone dinged with a text.

**_Allie:_ ** _You home yet? I just ordered Chinese and Pizza. Movie night, Harry Potter!_

**_Hana_ ** _: Just down the street, I think someone's following me. Can you meet me outside in two minutes? I can't wheel and text._

**_A:_ ** _OMG Yeah B right there!_

  
  


But Hana never made it home to her roommate Allison. Her broken body lay in the alley just beyond the ramp up into the building. Her now overturned wheelchair had rolled into the street. A knife stuck out of her chest and blood soaked into the wet concrete. 

***

When Hana woke, her head pounded, it felt like bricks were piled atop her chest, and her left foot hurt. Why did her left foot hurt? The gasp that came from her woke the woman in the wooden chair. "Easy da'len. The Inquisitor found you near chilled to death." A thin woman with dark curls that reached the top of her hips said.

Finally, Hana's vision cleared and she got a good look at her surroundings. Others lie on cloth cots, the smell of petrified wounds permeated the air and almost made Hana sick. "Where am I?" she asked, her hand going to a stitched incision at her right shoulder. She was wearing what could only be described as a short cotton nightgown or shift. But she could _feel her legs_! It was such a strange sensation to wiggle the cramps from her feet. Born with spina bifida, she'd never walked. The hole in her spine made it impossible. 

Sitting up, Hana clutched her chest. Why did it hurt so bad? Where was Allison? Her clothes? Her books? And why was this place so foul smelling and dirty? She didn't know the answers, but a familiar voice outside the door had her head snapping to a man and boy in a wide brimmed hat walking into the dark candle lit room. 

"Aching pain in my chest. Heart hammering and then silent, dead. Have peace." That was the voice she heard before… oh no.

Trying to stand, to run from that place, Hana didn't get three steps before falling. She had forgotten she did not know how to walk for too long. Strong arms encircled her, a short, stocky man with golden hair caught her. "Easy now. Don't want you to hurt yourself again red. Come on." He helped her back to her cot, and she sat, hyperventilating. 

"I know his voice. How… where the fuck am I? Why can I walk? Where is Allison? What the hell is going on?" She rambled so fast, the words fell from her mouth, jumbled. 

"Ok, take a breath. You're in Skyhold's infirmary, could ya not walk before? Who is Allison? And Dranè must've told you we found you half frozen just outside of Skyhold," he said slowly. The anxiety building inside of her grew more anxious. 

A man in full armor and a red cape or cloak stepped in, his golden eyes finding her green ones as the short man handed her a wooden cup full of water. "Varric, is everything alright in here?" His commanding tone cut through Hana. The blonde nodded.

"She's just shaken. What's your name red?" he asked gently.

"Umm… Hana, Hana Aleksander. I was going home from my bookstore, someone was following me and…" The rest played out in her head: being wrestled from her wheelchair, the man had been in her shop before. The glistening blade of a sharp knife being dragged across her shoulder, plunged into her heart. The memory had her crying hysterically, clutching to the left of a long heart surgery scar down the center of her chest. How was this happening? Did she die? Was this Heaven, Hell? 

A blanket was laid across her shoulders, her stock straight red hair fell around her heart shaped face as she buried her face in her hands. This wasn't Seattle. The nurse had pointed ears. She swore she knew the name Varric from somewhere, she just couldn't remember where. 

After a while, the armored man helped her walk through a busied courtyard beyond a massive _castle_ surrounded by mountains. His name, he told her, was Cullen. It was cold, but the sensation of the cold stone against her nearly dragging bare feet was so nice she didn't care. He led her into a hall full of people sitting down for a meal. She wasn't sure if she could eat anything. Her head swam with questions, concerns, more questions. Hana didn't even taste the food she shoveled into her mouth. 

As when she was wheelchair bound, her legs lacked almost any muscle mass. She didn't know about anything going on around her except a bald pointy eared man eyed her suspiciously, a girl about her age with a terrible haircut chattered nonsensically to a woman with short black hair and seemingly lessening patience. 

The only people to speak to her was an obviously handsome, obviously _gay_ man with a mustache who was funny and made everyone laugh, Varric and what could only be described as a giant man with grey skin and the horns of a Texas Longorn. 

"Yes, she has red hair. She also told Cullen and Varric that before waking up in the infirmary she couldn't walk. She's never taken a step before today, Bull." A young woman, maybe in her mid twenties, was talking about Hana to the big grey man as she stepped up to Hana. "Lady Hana, I am Nathalie Trevelyan, I was the one that found you near our camp half frozen in nothing but strange clothing." Hana had a half a spoonful of some sort of stew halfway between herself and a wooden bowl.

"Um, thank you Miss Trevelyan." Hana said through a half a mouthful of fresh bread and stew.

"I've had a maid make up a room for you. Josephine has sent up clean clothes." The woman sat down and thankfully ignored her new guest. Hana was apparently the shiny new toy in a room full of preschool kids until their leader decided she'd had enough unwanted attention for the day. 

As the night wound down, an elven woman helped her to an outer tower loft with a bed, dresser, roaring fireplace, a writing desk, couch, and that was it for the two level space. She was sat on the couch in front of the fireplace while the elven woman helped her dress in a large shirt and soft leggings. Choosing the couch over having Cullen carry her up a ladder, Hana fell asleep under a fur blanket and dreamt of her friend Allison, the missed Harry Potter Movie weekend and cold pizza.


	2. Chasing Spirits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hana settles into her new way of life.
> 
> (Tags added)  
> Slow Burn
> 
> This is the only story I have planned past chapter 20, But I will still post as editing finishes. 
> 
> Beta Read and Edited by sutsop! Go check her works out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hana and Cole's song is called Forever isn't Long Enough by Jason Reeves ft. High Dive Heart

  
  


When Hana woke, she expected it all to be a bad dream. She expected to wake up to Allison bringing her coffee to her bedside. 

No such luck. Pounding on a door woke her and Baldy nearly stormed in as Asha, her maid, answered the door. "Messere Solas? The sun has barely risen, and Lady Hana needs her rest to heal." He angrily tried to argue and push his way in, but Asha was having none of it. She held her ground and followed Inquisitor Trevelyan's orders. 

Hana was grateful, since Baldy didn't seem to like her much. Suddenly, the boy with the huge hat appeared sitting on the balls of his feet on the opposite arm of the plush couch, making her jump. "Shit! Where did you come from?" Hana yelped, pulling the covers to her chin. That's when she noticed her ears now came to a sharp point.

"The girl with wheels, you didn't listen to my help. That man hurt you, left you broken and bleeding in that strange place. Then Allison found your body, and the man got away. I'm sorry I couldn't help better." It was that voice, the meek male voice that warned her in the back of her head and spoke in riddles.

"Cole? Is that… it can't be. I died, and you weren't there. You were just an imaginary friend when I was little. The little voice in my head…" She felt so confused. Asha slipped from the room. 

"I'm not imaginary, I'm right here," Cole said, a sideways smile on his face. "Dorian healed you, that's why you can feel your legs. He is a good healer. Magic heals here." Cole had never confused her much, but now she was thoroughly confused.

"Dorian? Magic? I may like books, but magic isn't real, Cole," she said, her hair falling over her shoulder. She hadn't noticed the silver-white streaks in the bright red of her hair until now. 

"The magic that brought you here made your hair change." There was another knock at the door - it was Cullen this time, to take her to Dorian in the garden. 

Cullen sat her down on a bench and Dorian stood looking her over. Hana wrung her hands nervously. "Cassandra tells me my healing helped you more than we anticipated. Excellent!" Dorian clapped his hands together and smiled a cheeky grin. "So, you had no use of your legs for…" he asked, but it wasn't a question. Her legs were still deathly thin from the twenty-two years of her life they'd not been used. 

"Since I was born? I just turned twenty-two last week. A birth defect called spina bifida. It means my spinal cord failed to develop properly when my mom was pregnant. My brother also has it, but his defect was lower on his spine, so he can walk with crutches. Whatever you did made me at least able to feel my lower half again." Hana  _ was _ grateful, but it seemed unfamiliar. She was in her twenties and didn't know  _ how _ to walk. 

"So you went your entire life as a cripple? That explains why your legs can't hold you up. Some time and you'll be as right as a Magister! Come on!" Dorian gently held his hands out to Hana and began to help her across the courtyard garden.

***

After four months, the difference was palpable. Hana was walking, if still a bit shakily, without assistance. She didn't realize the vantage she had at her tallest, used to seeing the world at only four feet in a wheelchair. Cole had become protective when Nathalie and her companions returned from someplace called Adamant. He no longer appeared or vanished. He knocked politely, spoke in a less confusing manner, and was never far from her side. 

He even gifted her a set of beautiful daggers, and had started to teach her how to use them. In the past months, Hana had also adopted one of the Kennel Master's puppies. It reminded her of the Cane Corso she had as a child, but in Thedas they were called mabari. The blue brindle of her coat made her  _ undesirable  _ for breeding warhounds. Hana named her Blue, and she waddled everywhere Hana went. 

Now, Hana sat on the roof of the Herald's Rest with Sera, eating crackers, cheese, and grapes. Blue yapped from the tiny rotunda in the tavern. "When we found ya, I din't think ya'd be so funny. Or that ya'd live. So the Inquisitor wants you to come with us to Halamshiral?" Sera asked with a mouthful of food.

"Yea, she said my training is far enough along to be an asset to the team. With everyone taking me in and helping me so much, I couldn't say no. Especially with Cole looking at me with his puppy eyes," Hana said, hiding the fact that she actually enjoyed spending time with Cole. She liked to help him feed the birds and play with the nugs that wandered into the dungeons. 

"I don't know how you can spend time with that  _ thing _ . It's not natural," Sera said, a disgusted hint in her tone. Hana just shrugged Sera off, which seemed to be a normal thing to do for everyone. "At least you're not too elfy, like Solas. His head's stopped up a thousand years." 

That elicited a chuckle from Hana. She had been avoiding Solas since his insistent pounding on her door months ago. He had laid off since she spoke to Nathalie about it, but she felt his stony gaze upon her every time she walked through the rotunda to spend time with Dorian. 

Not today, however. After her afternoon with Sera, Hana sat on the ramparts, her bare feet dangling over snow covered mountains when he stepped up next to her. "Lady Aleksander." He was less urgent in his tone as she tucked some loose ginger and silver strands behind the point of her newish ears.

"Messere Solas. Beautiful isn't it?" she asked, taking a deep breath of the unpolluted air. 

Baldy looked over the valley and nodded curtly, "It is quite the sight. May I ask something?" 

"You just did, but what's up?" Hana stifled a laugh when he looked up, "It's a figure of speech, Solas. What did you want to ask?" Amusement was still plastered on her beautiful pale face as Solas shook his head.

"What do you remember before waking up in the infirmary, Hana?" He was standing stock straight, hands clasped firmly behind him.

"I remember being unable to walk for twenty-two years. My caregiver Allison, my bookstore... I don't know what you're fishing for Solas, but I'm just enjoying the quiet. No noisy roads, no chemicals in the air. My people were killing their world. I have nothing to hide Solas, and your girlfriend is my friend," she said, now standing in front of him. The elf towered over her, by at least a foot. He seemed content with her answers as he bowed and left her to watch the sun finish its descent behind the mountains. 

When Hana stepped into the hall, Cole, as usual, led her to the table. Blue yapped at Cole, but the puppy's entire backside wiggled with excitement. "Varric has helped me with putting honey in Leliana's wine." The boy smiled. Why was Hana so awkward around him?

"That's um… really nice of you Cole." Hana smiled hesitantly, filling her plate. In the months since arriving in Thedas, she had learned to walk, become stronger and leaner, and had started training with weapons. Hana had made quite a few friends: Sera, Dorian, Iron Bull, Varric, Cole. And now they were days away from a Masquerade Ball at a palace. 

Hana questioned many things about this reality. Like, maybe she didn't die in that alley. Perhaps she just slipped into a coma? No, it was actually painful when she was hurt. That idea was squashed when Sera pinched her as she was staring at Cole. 

"Where are you guys going tomorrow? " Hana asked Natalie's inner circle, who would all accompany her. 

"Hinterlands. They've got a dragon problem that needs taken care of, milady. We leave at first light," Blackwall said as he sat down. 

"Don't worry, we'll make sure the kid comes back safe, Red." Varric chuckled making Hana blush. The rest of the meal went by in jovial puns and jokes. 

When Cole found her sitting just outside her tower, watching people mill about the torch lit courtyard, he stuck his hands in his pockets and balanced effortlessly on the wall as he walked towards her. "Worry, new feelings, don't know what to do about them. I feel it too." He smiled down at her, a crooked smile. His pallor had darkened in the time since she arrived, his eyes were not so sunken in, and he'd even gained some weight. Varric had tried his best to explain the changes: Cole was a spirit of compassion who took a body. He had to grow from a trouble that ailed him after the events of Adamant Fortress, and now he was becoming more human, and less  _ spirit-inhabiting-a-body _ . 

"I have never felt anything like it before." Her emerald eyes searched his sapphire ones. He looked just as confused as she felt, but he smiled and sat so their shoulders touched. The butterflies in her stomach started fluttering at the contact. She laid her head on his shoulder, taking a deep breath and exhaling before she felt soft lips brush her forehead and lean arms encircle her tiny waist. 

That's how they stayed for hours, holding each other, talking about all of the new things each had experienced since meeting. In many ways, Hana still saw her childhood imaginary friend in Cole, but it was different now. She could see him, feel him. 

Cole held Hana's hand as they walked the ramparts, but when he felt brave enough, he pulled her to his chest. 

His lips came close to meeting hers, until he felt she was nervous. Instead, he laid a gentle kiss on her forehead before wishing her a good night. 


End file.
